51 min
Empowering Women Podcast S2: Cindy Wallis-Lage, President of Water Business Line The Empowering Women Podcast
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- Careers
Episode 2 (Season 2) of the Empowering Women Podcast
GUEST: Cindy Wallis-Lage, President of Global Water Business Line, Black & Veatch
Cindy Wallis-Lage holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an M.S. in Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. She has over 30 years of experience in the water/wastewater space. She joins us on this episode of the Empowering Women Podcast to discuss perspectives on growing into leadership, and opportunities she sees in the infrastructure world.
Notable Quotes:
“I call it the power of a moment - when something interjects and totally redirects what it is that you’re doing. And I had that fortunate experience… he [the dean of engineering] said, ‘Why aren’t you in engineering. You’re obviously strong in math and science…’ He took thirty minutes and explained what Civil Engineering could be, and I went ahead and enrolled right then and never looked back.”
“[In engineering] women are still in the minority. And, therefore, regardless of what your role is, you have to treat it as an opportunity that you can raise the bar regarding the acceptance of women.”
“For me it was being consistent in my walk and talk, being respectful, being present, leaning into conversations - making sure my voice was heard, not just because I wanted to talk a lot, but rather being heard such that when I was communicating I was doing it in a respectful manner… and my opinion was impactful.”
“We need to call out [unconscious bias] and highlight it... Sometimes we have to find a way to break or at least highlight it, and that’s the way to change things. My focus continues to be on how I can help break any of those biases about female leadership and make sure those opportunities are there for those”
“[Success] didn’t happen just because it’s what I wanted. Yes, I was driving, however I had great advocates, great support systems, and mentors - inside the company, outside the company - that allowed me to be successful. Sometimes [they were] pushing me, sometimes pulling me. And all of that makes a difference. No one is successful on their own. ”
“Don’t wait for [advocates] to come to you. Ask people to help you. Ask if they are willing to support you and work with you and how you would to be able to work with them to help further your own career, and what you’re trying to achieve.”
“I think that frustration happens when people become too isolated in what they’re trying to achieve as opposed to looking for a team. I need ‘team Cindy’ if you want to look at it from that standpoint. Who’s going to help me be successful. How do I engage those people that are going to make a difference. ”
“We need to have tremendous communications skills. The biggest challenge you have is when we resort to communications just with emails or texting or however we’re doing it in an electronic manner as opposed to just pick up the phone or sit in a meeting and to have those conversations… There’s so much that comes with body language.”
“That emotional intelligence of being able to understand people, to be able to communicate with people, to understand how to talk to different individuals based on their personality types - really important as you are seeking to mature through your career and have leadership roles. It isn’t just the technical... It’s also about how do you work with the team and then how do you lead a team. So being an effective team player, and then being effective at how do you lea
Episode 2 (Season 2) of the Empowering Women Podcast
GUEST: Cindy Wallis-Lage, President of Global Water Business Line, Black & Veatch
Cindy Wallis-Lage holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an M.S. in Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. She has over 30 years of experience in the water/wastewater space. She joins us on this episode of the Empowering Women Podcast to discuss perspectives on growing into leadership, and opportunities she sees in the infrastructure world.
Notable Quotes:
“I call it the power of a moment - when something interjects and totally redirects what it is that you’re doing. And I had that fortunate experience… he [the dean of engineering] said, ‘Why aren’t you in engineering. You’re obviously strong in math and science…’ He took thirty minutes and explained what Civil Engineering could be, and I went ahead and enrolled right then and never looked back.”
“[In engineering] women are still in the minority. And, therefore, regardless of what your role is, you have to treat it as an opportunity that you can raise the bar regarding the acceptance of women.”
“For me it was being consistent in my walk and talk, being respectful, being present, leaning into conversations - making sure my voice was heard, not just because I wanted to talk a lot, but rather being heard such that when I was communicating I was doing it in a respectful manner… and my opinion was impactful.”
“We need to call out [unconscious bias] and highlight it... Sometimes we have to find a way to break or at least highlight it, and that’s the way to change things. My focus continues to be on how I can help break any of those biases about female leadership and make sure those opportunities are there for those”
“[Success] didn’t happen just because it’s what I wanted. Yes, I was driving, however I had great advocates, great support systems, and mentors - inside the company, outside the company - that allowed me to be successful. Sometimes [they were] pushing me, sometimes pulling me. And all of that makes a difference. No one is successful on their own. ”
“Don’t wait for [advocates] to come to you. Ask people to help you. Ask if they are willing to support you and work with you and how you would to be able to work with them to help further your own career, and what you’re trying to achieve.”
“I think that frustration happens when people become too isolated in what they’re trying to achieve as opposed to looking for a team. I need ‘team Cindy’ if you want to look at it from that standpoint. Who’s going to help me be successful. How do I engage those people that are going to make a difference. ”
“We need to have tremendous communications skills. The biggest challenge you have is when we resort to communications just with emails or texting or however we’re doing it in an electronic manner as opposed to just pick up the phone or sit in a meeting and to have those conversations… There’s so much that comes with body language.”
“That emotional intelligence of being able to understand people, to be able to communicate with people, to understand how to talk to different individuals based on their personality types - really important as you are seeking to mature through your career and have leadership roles. It isn’t just the technical... It’s also about how do you work with the team and then how do you lead a team. So being an effective team player, and then being effective at how do you lea
51 min